Fable: Anniversary - Review Roundup

If youíve never played any of the games before though, or perhaps just one and not the others, Fable Trilogy is also released this week and includes Fable Anniversary, Fable II, and Fable III. The latter two arenít altered in any way but on a technical level they donít particularly need it.

What all three could do with though is something to address the intrinsic shallowness of the gameplay. Although playing the first one again itís clear thatís never really been Fableís primary focus. Instead it tries to offer a more human and personal experience for a role-playing game, and in that sense it still has disappointingly few peers.

Fable Anniversaryís personality has proved truly ageless, even if some of its mechanics havenít. Inevitably, its doesnít feel as fresh today as they did in 2004, but the strange and beautiful world of Albion, with all its weird idiosyncrasies and wildly varied accents, is as absorbing and lovably, peculiarly British as it ever was.

Fable Anniversary is an outstanding version of the original game. If the new console generation can live up to the ambition and imagination this title showed a decade ago theneverything is going to be alright.

And as it takes too much time to quote them all, here is a summary of some others.

With its uncomfortably messy combat, obtuse menu system, and overall awkward controls, Fable Anniversary would have benefited from more than just a visual upgrade. Indeed, the original Fable could have done with a full-on remake that modernized everything, as this is one severely dated action-adventure. Even by the standards of its time, Fable was always a little sloppy, favoring its idealistic ambition of choice and personal narrative over slick, polished gameplay. In today's world, going back to the clumsy original has a tendency to make one cringe.

Honestly I'm unsure why they just couldn't leave it as it was and make a proper sequel instead of the viewing horsebutt.

Originally Posted by zahratustra
Fable 3 was a dog. All I want to do is to forget about it.

Yep. Not only was the game atrocious, but the camera/character controls were probably the single worst I'd ever seen for a PC game. Just a godawful game all-around, and not even worthy of being called an RPG.

The original Fable was decent, though. Basically what DArtagnan already said.

I've only messed around with Fable 3 for a few hours, but it didn't seem worse than the original game from what I could see. I actually like the setting a lot more than the generic high-fantasy of Fable 1. Never played Fable 2.

I liked the orginal fable game though. Nice orginal fairy tale atmosphere combined with light hearted action adventure gameplay. I don't get why people dislike it so much. I never expected it to be a serious rpg though.

Originally Posted by joxer
No, this whole thing is about consoles only.